Pillow and method of making same



Dec. 13, 1966 A. L. WILLIS PILLOW AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Feb.12, 1965 QWIZOZJZ United States Patent Filed Feb. 12, 1965, Ser. No.432,180 16 Claims. 01. -337 This invention relates to improved pillowsof the battfilled type and to a method of making them.

Generally speaking, batt-filled pillows, as heretofore fabricated,involved the steps of rolling an elongated web or mat of a soft,resilient, compressible material, of substantially uniform thickness anddensity, into a cylindrical batt, forcing, as by stufling, the thusformed batt into the open end of a pillow tick, and thereafter securingtogether the free margins of the open end of the tick. To facilitateinsertion of the batt into the tick, a pillow compression chutefrequently is employed. In utilizing this technique, a pillow tickconsisting of two sheets of a suitable ticking material, sewn togetheron three sides, is mounted on the outlet end of the. chute by slippingthe open end of the tickthereover. Thebattis then forced through thechute into the tick and the open end of the tick is sewn or otherwiseclosed. In fabricating conventional batt-filled pillows in accordancewith the practices outlined, the material of the mat or web at the endsof the batt had a tendency to fold and/or lump together while the battwas being encased in the pillow tick. This folding and/or lumping at theends of the batt, together with the compressive forces exerted thereonby the tick itself, resulted in pillows with'comp'aratively hard,compacted ends which detracted from the overall comfort and appearanceof the pillows. Furthermore, such conventionally made batt-filledpillows tended to flatten out, and become deformed and misshapened withuse, throughout their entire length.

1 In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a batt-filledpillow is provided which overcomes the aforestated disadvantages ofconventional batt-filled pillows and which, moreover, achieves thisobjective with less material than would be required to fabricate aconventional batt-filled pillow of equal size and weight. Briefly, thepillow of the present invention comprises an unique pillow batt formedof a loosely integrated mat consisting of a plurality of superimposedlayers of a sheet or web of soft, resilient, compressible material,desirably rolled upon itself, and encased in a pillow tick. The mat fromwhich the batt is formed advantageously has at least some layers of theweb terminating at a point within the batt, removed from the outerextremities thereof, to provide a greater number of layers of the web atthe central portion of the batt than at its outer extremities. Thisarrangement of layers imparts a greater fullness to the central portionof the pillow and materially enhances the ability of the pillow toresist compacting, thereby giving the pillow substantially improveddurability.

In accordance with the method aspects of the present invention, foldingand/ or lumping of the ends of the batt which, as indicated hereinabove,is a common problem in the fabrication of conventional batt-filledpillows, substantially is eliminated. This result is attained by a novelprocedure which may be conveniently described 'asbuilding the pillowtick around the pillow batt. This procedure includes the steps offorming a pillow batt, as briefly outlined hereinabove, and placing iton a sheet of suitable ticking material which has been cut to desireddimensions. A .second sheet of the ticking material is then superimposedon the exposed side of the batt, and the opposed free margins of thesheets are secured together, as by stitching, to encase the batt in thetick formed from the two sheets. The method effectively avoids thestuffing or ramming operation heretofore employed to introduce 3190,7 04Patented Dec. 13, 1966 "ice the batt into the pillow tick. Furthermore,due to the fact that the batt, as formed in accordance with the practiceof this invention, is of reduced density at its ends, that is, has fewerlayers of the web at its extremities that is the case withconventionally formed batts of the type here under consideration,compacting of the ends of the batt by reason of forces exerted thereonby the pillow tick is minimized. The pillow thus produced has asubstantially uniform, smooth, barrel shape, and has essentially thesame soft and comfortable feel throughout its length.

The materials utilized in forming the web for the batt incorporated inthe pillows of the present invention are numerous and variable. They maybe natural or synthetic in origin, and desirably are non-woven andfibrous or filamentary in character. The individual fibers or filamentsof the material of the web advantageously should possess an inherentresiliency due to a curvature impressed upon them either during theirnatural development or during processing so that a random distributionof the fibers or filaments will produce a web of desired dimensionswhich is compressible and resilient. An especially desirable web can beproduced from a synthetic fiber sold under the trademark Dacron (E. I.du Pont de Nemours & Company) made by the condensation of dimethylterephthalate and ethylene glycol, and which is sold as Dacron fiberfillfor pillows. This material is obtainable in bale form and advantageouslyis garnetted, in any manner known in the art, into a cross-lapped web ofpredetermined length, width and thickness, and then processed to attainthe objectives of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, in which an illustrative embodiment of apillow, made in accordance with the practice of this invention, invarious stages of its fabrication is shown:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an embodiment of a rolled battutilized in making the pillow;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective illustrating a method of enclosing thebatt of FIG. 1 in a pillow tick;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in perspective illustrating theposition of the various layers of the web from which the mat is formed;

FIG. 4 is an end view in schematic form of the mat illustrated in FIG.3; and

FIG. 5 is a side view in elevation of an embodiment of a finished pillowmade in accordance with the practice of the present invention.

The objectives of this invention are attained by providing a web ofpredetermined length and width, desirably in the form of a thin, unitarysheet of intermingled fibers, and folding it upon itself in a uniquemanner until a three dimensional mat of the desired size and weight isobtained. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, such a mat,designated generally at 10, is formed from a sheet or web 12 of thecharacter indicated, and comprises a plurality of folds in tiered orsuperimposed relation with respect to one another. In folding the sheet12 upon itself, more plies or layers of the sheet advantageously areprovided centrally of the mat 10 than at the outer extremities or endsthereof. This result is achieved in accordance with the practice of thepresent invention by terminating certain of the folds inwardly of theoutermost folds of the sheet forming the mat. Thus, as seen in thereferred-to figures of the drawing, folds 16 terminate at a pointinwardly removed from outermost folds 18 which, in the embodimentillustrated, define the width of the mat 10. The number of folds 16 inthe mat is not critical, it being essential to the attainment of theobjectives of this invention only that the number of plies or layers ofthe sheet be greatest at the central portion of the mat as defined bythe folds 16 than at the extremities of the mat as defined by folds 18.Stated differently, this arrangement of plies or layers produces a mathaving a greater density at the central portion thereof than at theouter extremities or ends of the mat.

Folding of the sheet 12 to attain the result desired may be performed byhand or, more satisfactorily from an economic standpoint, especially ina mass production operation, by utilizing equipment designed for thepurpose. Exemplary of such equipment is a device referred to in thetrade as a lapper which, in association with a suitable shiftingattachment, is capable of forming a mat, such as mat 10, on a conveyoror other suitable moving surface positioned beneath the lapper.

In utilizing the described mat to produce a pillow in accordance withthe present invention, the mat advantageously is rolled upon itself toform a substantially cylindrical batt (see FIG. 1). The batt 20 is thenplaced on one panel of a pillow tick, designated generally at 22 in FIG.2, which conveniently is formed of two sheets or panels 24-24 of asuitable ticking material such as cotton, cotton percale, or the like.The panels 24-24 desirably are stitched together along one of theiropposed margins and then laid on a flat surface to receive the batt 20.After the batt has been positioned on one of the panels, the other panelis folded over the batt and the remaining free, opposed margins of thepanels are secured together, as by stitching 26. When thusly enclosed inthe tick, the ends of the batt are brought together by the compressiveforces exerted thereon at the secured ends of the tick, and the pillowassumes a shape suggestive of that of a barrel as indicated in FIG. 5.Prior to encasing the batt in the pillow, the batt desirably can firstbe covered with a loosely woven liner 28 formed of cheesecloth or thelike, as shown in FIG. 1. The use of such a liner serves to maintain theshape of the batt and facilitates the handling thereof.

While pillows produced in accordance with the practice of the presentinvention demonstrate a marked resistance to bulk loss over batt-filledpillows of standard construction, this characteristic, among otherfavorable properties of the pillows of this invention, can be enhancedand augmented by treating the mat 10 to provide it with a small quantityof a flexible non-tacky resinous substance, substantially uniformlydistributed on one side thereof. In accordance with this practice, themat 10 is rolled upon itself as indicated hereinabove in a manner toplace the resinous substance carrying side of the mat in contact withthe opposite, non-resinous substance carrying side of the mat. Thuslyrolled, the mat is provided with an integral, resilient, interfacialresinous layer having spirally wound-spring-like properties serving tofurther increase the pillows capability to resist pillow deformingforces without discomfort to the user.

The resinous substance utilized for this purpose desirably is in theform of a liquid resin or elastomer dispersion. The character of thedispersion should be such that, when dried or cured, it will benon-tacky and flexible. Contact of the fibers or filaments of the sheetor web 12 with the dispersion can be attained in accordance withconventional techniques and with standard equiment. From the standpointof ease and efliciency, spray application of the dispersion ispreferred. The liquid resin or elastomer will, in practice, penetratesomewhat below the surface of the mat but such penetration shouldadvantageously not extend more than to a slight depth below saidsurface.

Various types of liquid resin or elastomer dispersions, and mixturesthereof, can be used to advantage. Exemplary of resin dispersions havingutility for this purpose are those containing polyvinyl chloride,acrylic esters, cellulose esters, alkyds, and the like. Excellentresults are attainable with a water-soluble acrylic resin availablecommercially under the trademark HA-l6 (Rohm & Haas). An example of anelastomer dispersion having utility for the purposes of this inventionis an aqueous dispersion 'of a vulcanizable elastomer. The specificelastomer employed in such a dispersion can be either a natural rubberlatex, a synthetic elastomer latex, or a reclaimed rubber dispersion.The rubber or synthetic elastomer dispersion can be compounded with wellknown ingredients to facilitate the application and curing of theelastomer. Water may be added to secure the required consistency forspraying. Specific examples of elastomers which can be utilized includebutadiene-styrene dispersions, neoprene rubber dispersions, and thelike.

The quantity of resinous substance required to achieve the desiredresult is small, ranging from about 3% to 15%, usually 5% to 10%, of thetotal weight of the pillow batt. The resin or elastomer dispersiondesirably is applied in the form of a fine spray to one surface only ofthe mat, the objective sought being to achieve an accumulation of thedispersion at the cross-points or intersections of the intermingledfibers at the surface of the mat whereby, when dried, or cured, thedispersion will form minute nodules which effectively lock the fibers orfilaments together. This has the effect of imparting an integratedcharacter to the dispersion-sprayed surface of the mat giving itmechanical properties noticeably different from those of the non-sprayedportions of the mat. While these differences can be detected by runningones hand across the dispersion-contacted surface of the mat, or bygently tugging at the surface fibers to separate them, except for theminute nodules, detectable only upon close examination, at thecross-points or intersections of the fibers, the sprayed surface of themat, generally speaking, is not visibly different from the unsprayedsurface thereof.

The extent to which the dispersion penetrates the mat is variable, beingdependent, in the main, upon the viscosity of the dispersion and thedensity, or porosity, of the sheet or web 12. By way of illustration, aresin dispersion containing HA-16 (Rohm & Haas), when applied to onesurface of a mat formed of Dacron fiberfill having a thickness of fromabout 2 to 4 inches, and a weight of approximately 5 ounces per runningyard for a 24 inch mat width, will form the hereinabove describednodules to a depth in the sprayed-surface of the mat varying from about4 inch to about inch, more or less.

Pillows fabricated from a batt formed in'accordance with a particularlyadvantageous embodiment of the practice of the present invention have ofthe order of 20%, or more, batt material at the central portion thereofthan do conventionally constructed pillows of the same size and weight.This greater fullness of the pillows of this invention enables them toachieve substantially the same effect as would be obtained with aconventional pillow of the next greater size and batt weightspecifications. Thus, for example, a pillow having a finished tick sizeof 20" x 26" containing a Dacron fiberfill batt, formed in accordancewith the teachings of the present invention, having a width ofapproximately 24" and a length of approximately 12, weighingapproximately 20 ounces, will have substantially the same fullness andcomfort-feel, centrally of the ends of the pillow, as a conventionalpillow having a finished tick size of 21" x 27", containing a battformed of the same material having a width of approximately 25" and alength of approximately 13', weighing 22 ounces. In the example given,this represents a savings of about 10% in the amount of materialrequired for forming the batt.

While the pillow of the present invention has been described andillustrated with reference to its fabrication by the utilization of aunitary sheet or web of intermingled fibers folded upon itself, it is tobe understood that the batt can be formed of a plurality of smaller,separate sheets or webs pre-cut to the desired length and width, andsuperimposed one upon the other to provide a greater number of layers ofthe web material at the central por tion of the pillow than at the ends,as described. It should also be understood that the present inventioncontemplates the formation of pillows having shapes different from theone illustrated and described. Thus, for instance, a substantiallysquareor rectangular-shaped pillow incorporating the advantages of thepresent invention can be fabricated by forming the tiers or layers insuch shapes and encasing them in a suitably shaped tick.

What is claimed is:

1. A pillow comprising a pillow tick and a pillow batt enclosed therein,the pillow batt being formed of a plurality of superimposed layers ofsoft, resilient, compressible material in the form of a web ofintermingled fibers, at least some of the layers of the batt terminatingat a point within the batt removed from the outer extremities thereof toprovide a greater number of layers of said material at the centralportion of the batt than at the outer extremities of the batt thereby toimpart greater fullness to the central portion of the pillow whilesubstantially overcoming excessive compacting of the extremities of thebatt by the pillow tick.

2. A pillow comprising a pillow tick and a pillow batt enclosed therein,the pillow batt being formed of a plurality of superimposed folds of aweb of intermingled fibers of a soft, resilient, compressible material,at least some of the folds of the batt terminating at a point within thebatt removed from the outer extremities thereof to provide a greaternumber of folds of said material at the central portion of the batt thanat the outer extremities of the batt thereby to impart greater fullnessto the central portion of the pillow while substantially overcomingexcessive compacting of the extremities of the batt by the pillow tick.

3. A pillow comprising a pillow tick and a pillow batt enclosed therein,the pillow batt being formed from a three dimensional mat in sheet-likeform rolled upon itself, said mat consisting of a plurality ofsuperimposed layers of soft, resilient, compressible material in theform of a web of intermingled fibers, at least some of the layers of thebatt terminating at a point within the batt removed from the outerextremities thereof to provide a greater number of layers of saidmaterial at the central portion of the batt than at the outerextremities of the batt thereby to impart greater fullness to thecentral portion of the pillow while substantially overcoming excessivecompacting of the extremities of the batt by the pillow tick.

4. A pillow comprising a pillow tick and a pillow batt enclosed therein,the pillow batt being formed from a unitary three dimensional mat insheet-like form rolled upon itself, said mat being formed of a pluralityof superimposed folds of a unitary web of intermingled fibers of soft,resilient, compressible material, at least some of the folds of the battterminating at a point within the batt removed from the outerextremities thereof to provide a greater number of folds of saidmaterial at the central portion of the batt than at the outerextremities of the batt thereby to impart greater fullness to thecentral portion of the pillow while substantially overcoming excessivecompacting of the extremities of the batt by the pillow tick.

5. A pillow as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that thecompressible material is an ethylene glycol terephthalate polyesterfiberfill.

6. A method of making a batt for a pillow comprising placing a pluralityof layers of soft, resilient, compressible material in the form of a webof intermingled fibers in superimposed relation with respect to oneanother to form a three-dimensional mat of appreciable thickness, .atleast some of said layers being narrower than others of said layers andbeing placed in superimposed relation in the formation of the mat in amanner to provide a greater number of layers of said material at thecentral portion of the batt than at the outer extremities thereof.

7. A method of making a batt for a pillow comprising folding a sheetformed of a web of intermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressiblematerial upon itself to form a three-dimensional mat of appreciablethickness, the folds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of theother in a manner to provide a greater number of folds at the centralportion of'the mat than at the outer extremities thereof, and rollingthe mat thus formed upon itself to form a pillow batt.

8. A method of making a pillow comprising placing a plurality of layersof soft, resilient, compressible material in the form of a web ofintermingled fibers in superimposed relation with respect to one anotherto form a threedimensional batt of appreciable thickness, at least someof said layers being narrower than others of said layers and beingplaced in superimposed relation in the formation of the batt in a mannerto provide a greater number of layers of said material at the centralportion of the batt than at the outer extremities thereof, and enclosingthe batt in a pillow tick.

9. A method of making a pillow comprising placing a plurality of layersof soft, resilient, compressible material in the form of a web ofintermingled fibers in superimposed relation With respect to one anotherto form a threedimensional mat of appreciable thickness, at least someof said layers being narrower than others of said layers and beingplaced in superimposed relation in the formation of the mat in a mannerto provide a greater number of layers of said material at the centralportion of the mat than at the outer extremities thereof, rolling themat upon itself to form a pillow batt, encasing the batt in a looselywoven batt-retaining cover of a size sufiicient to prevent excessivecompacting of the batt therein, and enclosing the thus encased batt in apillow tick.

10. A method of making a pillow comprising folding a sheet formed of aweb of intermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressible materialupon itself to form a threedimensional mat of appreciable thickness, thefolds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of the other in amanner to provide a greater number of folds at the central portion ofthe mat than at the outer extremities thereof, rolling the mat thusformed upon itself to form a pillow batt, and encasing the rolled battin a pillow tick.

11. A method of making a pillow comprising folding a sheet formed of aWeb of intermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressible materialupon itself to form a threedimensional mat of appreciable thickness, thefolds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of the other in amanner to provide a greater number of folds at the central portion ofthe mat than at the outer extremities thereof, rolling the mat thusformed upon itself to form a pillow batt, encasing the batt in a looselywoven battretaining cover of a size suflicient to prevent excessivecompacting of the batt therein, and enclosing the thus encased batt in apillow tick.

12. A method of making a pillow comprising folding a sheet formed of aweb of intermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressible materialupon itself to form a threedimensional mat of appreciable thickness, thefolds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of the other in amanner to provide a greater number of folds at the central portion ofthe mat than at the outer extremities thereof, rolling the mat thusformed upon itself to form a pillow batt, placing the rolled batt on onepanel of pillow ticking, superimposing a second panel of pillow tickingon the exposed side of said batt, and securing together the free marginsof said sheets to enclose the batt therein.

13. A batt fora pillow comprising a plurality of layers of soft,resilient, compressible material in the form of a web of intermingledfibers in superimposed relation with respect to one another to form athree-dimensional batt of appreciable thickness, at least some of saidlayers being narrower than others of said layers and being placed insuperimposed relation in the formation of the bat-t in a manner toprovide a greater number of layers of said material at the centralportion of the batt than at the outer extremities thereof. I

14. A batt for a pillow comprising a unitary sheet formed of a web ofintermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressible material foldedupon itself to form a threedimensional batt of appreciable thickness,the folds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of the other in amanner to provide a greater number of folds at the central portion ofthe batt than at the outer extremities thereof.

15. A pillow comprising a pillow tick and a pillow batt enclosedtherein, the pillow batt being formed from a three-dimensional mat insheet-like form, said mat consisting of a plurality of superimposedlayers of soft, resilient, compressible material in the form of a web ofintermingled fibers, at least some of the layers of the batt terminatingat a point within the batt removed from the outer extremities thereof toprovide a greater number of layers of said material at the centralportion of the batt than at the outer extremities of the batt thereby-to impart greater fullness to the central portion of the pillow whilesubstantially overcoming excessive compacting of the extremities of thebatt by the pillow tick, said mat having a small quantity of a flexible,non-tacky resinous substance substantially uniformly distributed on theouter surface thereof and being wound upon itself whereby the resinoussubstance forms an integral, resilient, interfacial layer in the battserving to comfortably resist .pillowdeforming forces.

n U 16. A method of making a pillow comprising folding a sheet formed ofa web of intermingled fibers of soft, resilient, compressible materialupon itself to form a three-dimensional mat of appreciable thickness,the folds of said sheet being superimposed one on top of the other in amanner to provide a grea-ter number of folds at the central portion ofthe mat than at the outer extremities thereof, applying a small quantityof a resinous substance substantially uniformly on the outer surfacethereof, rolling the mat thus formed upon itself to form a pillow batt,and encasing the rolled batt in a pillow tick.

References (iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,560,72211/1925 Fowler 156-184 X 1,988,843 1/1935 Heldenbrand 161-136 2,001,7095/1935 Davidson 156-227 X 2,368,930 2/1945 Lenz 5-355 FRANK B. SHERRY,Primary Examiner.

A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

3. A PILLOW COMPRISING A PILLOW TICK AND A PILLOW BATT ENCLOSED THEREIN,THE PILLOW BATT BEING FORMED FROM A THREE DIMENSIONAL MAT IN SHEET-LIKEFORM ROLLED UPON ITSELF, SAID MAT CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OFSUPERIMPOSED LAYERS OF SOFT, RESILIENT, COMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL IN THEFORM OF A WEB OF INTERMINGLED FIBERS, AT LEAST SOME OF THE LAYERS OF THEBATT TERMINATING AT A POINT WITHIN THE BATT REMOVED FROM THE OUTEREXTREMITIES THEREOF TO PROVIDE A GREATER NUMBER OF LAYERS OF SAIDMATERIAL AT THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE BATT THAN AT THE OUTEREXTERMITIES OF THE BATT THEREBY TO IMPART GREATER FULLNESS TO THECENTRAL PORTION OF THE PILLOW WHILE SUBSTANTIALLY OVERCOMING EXCESSIVECOMPACTING OF THE EXTREMITIES OF THE BATT BY THE PILLOW TICK.